RMweb Gold Strathwood Posted February 12, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 12, 2020 Can anyone shed some light on an article in The Railway Modeller in the 1970s that carried a plan for an n gauge layout as I recall entitled "watching the trains go by" if my memory is correct it was a clever plan allowing a single track to appear as a double track allowing the trains to run past the viewer in both directions? Kevin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Gilbert Posted February 12, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 12, 2020 I believe the author was John Allison? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris M Posted February 12, 2020 Share Posted February 12, 2020 Yes I recall a layout built by John Allison. Was it a sea wall one? The one I'm thinking of had some form of automation maybe using a tape reel and also location sounds such as the sea and seagulls. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatB Posted February 12, 2020 Share Posted February 12, 2020 6 hours ago, Strathwood said: Can anyone shed some light on an article in The Railway Modeller in the 1970s that carried a plan for an n gauge layout as I recall entitled "watching the trains go by" if my memory is correct it was a clever plan allowing a single track to appear as a double track allowing the trains to run past the viewer in both directions? Kevin Plan of the Month in late 1978 or early 1979. My increasingly unreliable memory is associating it with pink cover lettering which, I think, would make it September or March, but my collection is boxed up and inaccessible so I can't check. IIRC it was a concept, not an existing layout. I also remember the sort of watercolour sketches that appeared with Roy Link articles, which would fit with the period. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium kevinlms Posted February 13, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 13, 2020 (edited) 7 hours ago, Strathwood said: Can anyone shed some light on an article in The Railway Modeller in the 1970s that carried a plan for an n gauge layout as I recall entitled "watching the trains go by" if my memory is correct it was a clever plan allowing a single track to appear as a double track allowing the trains to run past the viewer in both directions? Kevin 'Watching the trains go by' appears in RM for February 1979, as Plan of the Month. No author is given, but could be CJF. Edit it could be Roy Link as the article contains the watercolour sketch as suggested by PatB. Edited February 13, 2020 by kevinlms 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium kevinlms Posted February 13, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 13, 2020 6 hours ago, Chris M said: Yes I recall a layout built by John Allison. Was it a sea wall one? The one I'm thinking of had some form of automation maybe using a tape reel and also location sounds such as the sea and seagulls. Yes, I remember that. It was a layout looped around in such a way that the train went around 4 times IIRC. Definitely by John Allison. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris M Posted February 13, 2020 Share Posted February 13, 2020 February 1979. I haven't seen the article but based on an index this was a plan written by in house staff. I'm still sure I remember a John Allison article but that was some years earlier - maybe in the 1960s. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
'CHARD Posted February 13, 2020 Share Posted February 13, 2020 I remember that layout, as I was dabbling in 'N' around the age of 11 and it looked fascinating. Another one about that time was 'The Little Long Drag' unless I am very much mistaken. Full length trains in the 'Big Country' must've resonated with me, hence my cultish Waverley route/ MNA obsession all these years later.... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Strathwood Posted February 13, 2020 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted February 13, 2020 14 hours ago, Chris M said: Yes I recall a layout built by John Allison. Was it a sea wall one? The one I'm thinking of had some form of automation maybe using a tape reel and also location sounds such as the sea and seagulls. Yes, I remember that. It was a layout looped around in such a way that the train went around 4 times IIRC. Definitely by John Allison. This sounds like the one I was looking for chaps, yes I think it was a sea wall concept. The other one mentioned I think just involved a simple dog bone loop with artwork to suggest it was an inner city line alongside a canal if i recall correctly. the one I am chasing for ideas and inspiration was the sea wall plan if anyone can help, please? Kevin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold JohnR Posted February 13, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 13, 2020 2 hours ago, 'CHARD said: I remember that layout, as I was dabbling in 'N' around the age of 11 and it looked fascinating. Another one about that time was 'The Little Long Drag' unless I am very much mistaken. Full length trains in the 'Big Country' must've resonated with me, hence my cultish Waverley route/ MNA obsession all these years later.... I really liked the idea of the Little Long Drag by David Jenkinson. I've long thought that if I had the space, I would plan something similar in 4mm. I was so dissapointed when in the 80s I found out he had never completed it and then moved into O. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Strathwood Posted February 16, 2020 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted February 16, 2020 Anyone know which issue I need to track down to get a copy of the layout plan, please for the sea wall concept plan layout by chance? Thanks, Kevin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium St Enodoc Posted February 16, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 16, 2020 13 minutes ago, Strathwood said: Anyone know which issue I need to track down to get a copy of the layout plan, please for the sea wall concept plan layout by chance? Thanks, Kevin John Allison's N gauge "Watching the trains go by", with automatic control using magnetic tape, was in the May 1971 issue. There was a Plan of the Month by Alan Gibson (not the wheels man, another one) in February 1972, that featured his 00 loft layout. I can't trace anything in this vein by Roy Link in the Modeller. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris M Posted February 16, 2020 Share Posted February 16, 2020 Just found John's article but an hour too late! It is indeed May 1971. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium kevinlms Posted February 16, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 16, 2020 3 hours ago, Chris M said: Just found John's article but an hour too late! It is indeed May 1971. I'm surprised that it's under the Junior Modeller banner. Hardly seems appropriate for the late John Allison! The layout certainly requires some automation and with the complex baseboard design, it seems not to be a layout for the beginner. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatB Posted February 16, 2020 Share Posted February 16, 2020 51 minutes ago, kevinlms said: I'm surprised that it's under the Junior Modeller banner. Hardly seems appropriate for the late John Allison! The layout certainly requires some automation and with the complex baseboard design, it seems not to be a layout for the beginner. Now that I see it, I remember the article. IIRC it was built for display at a school, hence the Junior Modeller connection. A little tenuous, but maybe they were scratching for JM content that month. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Strathwood Posted February 16, 2020 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted February 16, 2020 That's great guys, was it as long ago as that when I read about in the RM? Kevin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Gilbert Posted February 16, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 16, 2020 28 minutes ago, Strathwood said: That's great guys, was it as long ago as that when I read about in the RM? Kevin I remember it well.... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
w124bob Posted March 22, 2020 Share Posted March 22, 2020 I'm sure there was a Roy Link plan for an N gauge layout with some colour illustrations under the same title. There were no visble points and a dumbell at the left end, front of the layout featured a canal running parallel to the railway which was on an embankment, behind the railway were low relief terraced houses. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Strathwood Posted March 31, 2020 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted March 31, 2020 Yes I recall that too, it was from the 1980s and could be left as a blank canvas to suit pretty much anytime in the 20th century and almost any large town/city location, although some locations are predominantly stone or brick built buildings. But you see what I mean I am am sure. Kevin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightmail Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 Here you go: 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightmail Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightmail Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hroth Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 (edited) Amazing! Especially when you think that nowadays, the control system tasks could be performed by a single Arduino Uno and a bank of relays. May 1971 was 6 months before the first microprocessor (the Intel 4004 of November 1971) was released*. Speaking of electromechanical control systems, does anyone remember the "Automatic Crispin" system used by Peter Denny around the same time? * And it would have been too expensive and difficult for the "average enthusiast" to use... The Uno itself was the first cheap and easy to program microcontroller system, introduced in 2010, so only 14 years ago. It and the even more flexible 2012 Raspberry Pi SBC have been key players in the democritisation of computer controlled applications in the hobbyist environment. Edited March 29 by Hroth Extra Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium St Enodoc Posted March 30 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 30 15 hours ago, Hroth said: Speaking of electromechanical control systems, does anyone remember the "Automatic Crispin" system used by Peter Denny around the same time? Paging @t-b-g. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Gilbert Posted March 30 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 30 4 hours ago, St Enodoc said: Paging @t-b-g. It lives!........t-b-g brought it along to a Missenden session in 2019.... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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